Why TV May Take Over SXSW 2017

This year’s SXSW Festival in Austin will feature more television-centered events than ever before.

By Alain StephensMarch 2, 2017 8:47 am,

Many proclaim television has entered a golden age. As a result, its growth as well as its new challenges have become hot-button issues for panels, interactive installations and other events at Austin’s South by Southwest (SXSW) Festival.

From the implications of a new commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission, to streaming services stepping up their original content, to broadcast journalists discussing politics, the festival will feature a wide variety of television-centered topics.

Omar Gallaga, digital savant for the Austin American-Statesman’s 512 Tech, is covering SXSW this year. He says, as usual, the festival aims to stay ahead of the trends that the people it attracts are paying attention to.

“Streaming services like Hulu and Netflix are just churning out so much content for binge watching,” Gallaga says. “If you’re a content creator these days it’s a really good time to be someone who’s writing or creating TV shows.”

Written by Emma Whalen.